Biography

Roberta Metsola was elected President of the European Parliament in January 2022. She was first elected as the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2013, then re-elected in 2014 and 2019. In 2020 she was elected as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament. She was responsible for the European Parliament's relations with national parliaments and for the Parliament's participation in the interreligious and non-confessional dialogue.

Within the European Parliament, President Metsola was the European Peoples Party Group's Coordinator in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. She was also the Parliament's rapporteur on the European Border and Coastguard Regulation in 2019. She co-authored the Parliament's own-initiative report on the need to protect journalists in the European Union from Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation.

Prior to her election as a MEP, President Metsola served within the Permanent Representation of Malta to the European Union and later as the legal advisor to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Professionally she is a lawyer specialised in European law and politics. She graduated from the University of Malta and the College of Europe in Bruges.

Biography

Margaritis Schinas took office as Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life in the Von der Leyen Commission in December 2019. In this capacity, he oversees the EU’s policies for migration, security union, social rights, skills, education, culture, youth, health and dialogue with churches, religious associations and non-confessional organisations.

Mr Schinas started his career in the European Commission in 1990. He also served as a Member of the European Parliament, from 2007 until 2009. Upon the completion of his parliamentary term of office, he returned to the European Commission and held various senior positions. In 2010, President Barroso appointed Mr Schinas as Deputy Head of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers. Later he served as Resident Director and Head of the Athens Office of the European Commission's Directorate‑General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN). In 2014, President Juncker appointed Mr Schinas as the European Commission’s Chief Spokesperson.

Margaritis Schinas holds an MSc on Public Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics, a Diploma of Advanced European Studies on European Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and a Degree in Law from the Aristotelean University of Thessaloniki.

Biography

Iliana Ivanova is the newly appointed Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. Previously, she was a member of the European Court of Auditors, Dean of Chamber II responsible for audits in the field of Investment for cohesion, growth and inclusion. She is a former member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control and Vice-Chair of the Special Committee on the Economic, Financial and Social Crisis. She has worked for Sofia City Council, and in the field of investment, business analysis and finances. Iliana Ivanova holds a master’s degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Economics in Varna, and a MBA from the Thunderbird University in Arizona.

Biography

Sabine Verheyen has been a Member of the European Parliament for the German Christian Democrats (CDU) since 2009. In 2019 she got elected as Chairwoman of the Committee for Culture and Education, after having served as coordinator for the European People`s Party in this committee for five years. She focuses in particular on education and media policy as well as digital agenda issues. As former mayor of Aachen (1999 to 2009) she focuses additionally on issues that are of relevance to the local authorities.

She has been co-rapporteur for the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive and has been a Member of the European Parliament’s annual delegation to the Internet Governance Forum since 2009. Sabine Verheyen studied architecture at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences.

Biography

Read the biography of Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen

Biography

Iliana Ivanova is the newly appointed Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. Previously, she was a member of the European Court of Auditors, Dean of Chamber II responsible for audits in the field of Investment for cohesion, growth and inclusion. She is a former member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control and Vice-Chair of the Special Committee on the Economic, Financial and Social Crisis. She has worked for Sofia City Council, and in the field of investment, business analysis and finances. Iliana Ivanova holds a master’s degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Economics in Varna, and a MBA from the Thunderbird University in Arizona.

Biography

Sabine Verheyen has been a Member of the European Parliament for the German Christian Democrats (CDU) since 2009. In 2019 she got elected as Chairwoman of the Committee for Culture and Education, after having served as coordinator for the European People`s Party in this committee for five years. She focuses in particular on education and media policy as well as digital agenda issues. As former mayor of Aachen (1999 to 2009) she focuses additionally on issues that are of relevance to the local authorities.

She has been co-rapporteur for the Audio-Visual Media Services Directive and has been a Member of the European Parliament’s annual delegation to the Internet Governance Forum since 2009. Sabine Verheyen studied architecture at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences.

Biography

Minister of Universities, Joan Subirats, born in Barcelona in 1951.

Regarding the academic training, he is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science and Administration at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (2021), professor of Political Science and Administration at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (1990) and Doctor in Economic Sciences at the Universidad de Barcelona (1980).

Concerning the political and professional career, he is the current Minister of Universities (December 2021 - present). He was the Deputy Mayor's Office for Culture, Education, Science and Community at Barcelona City Council, from July 2019 until July 2021, and the responsible for the Culture area of the Barcelona City Council from January 2018 until May 2019.

Previously, he has been researcher and visiting professor at various American and European universities. Prince of Asturias Chair at Georgetown University in 2003. He is also founder and researcher of the Government and Public Policy Institute at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

Biography

Emil Boc- Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, the second-largest city in Romania, in terms of size and economic development. Member of the A Soul for Europe Advisory Board. President of COTER Commission, European Committee of the Regions, Rapporteur on Brain Drain in the EU and also on Achieving the European Education Area by 2025 and „European Strategy for Universities”. PhD in Political Science, Associate professor at Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law from Michigan State University in East Lansing, U.S. Former Prime Minister of Romania during 2008-2012, former President of the Democratic Liberal Party during 2005-2012.

Biography

Elisa Gambardella was elected President of the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) in 2023, after two years contributing to the work of the Steering Committee of the LLLP and representing it in the Board of Civil Society Europe. Her home organisation is SOLIDAR Foundation, where she is Education and Lifelong Learning Coordinator since 2020, and that she originally joined as Political Adviser in 2018. Elisa has represented SOLIDAR also as a member of the Civil Society Organisations Convention for the Conference on the Future of Europe, and as a member of the plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Before moving to Brussels, she worked for the Cabinet of the Italian Minister of Labour, where she specialised in active labour market policies for youth employment. Overall, she has 10 years’ experience in public authorities, think-tanks and EU civil society organisations and she holds a master’s degree in European Studies from the Roma Tre University.

Biography

Read the biography of Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen

Biography

Domènec Ruiz Devesa has a degree in Law and Economics from the Carlos III University, in Political Science and Sociology from the National University of Distance Education (UNED), a master's degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, with a specialty in European Studies, and a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Economic Growth and Sustainable Development by UNED. He has been a consultant for several international organizations such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, or the Union for the Mediterranean, as well as international consultant for Oxford Policy Management and Family Health International, and think tanks such as Fundación Alternativas, and Fundación Sistema. He has been an advisor to the Minister of the Presidency (2011), an advisor to the Spanish Socialist Delegation in the European Parliament (2014-2018) and deputy head for Political and Parliamentary Affairs in the cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. In 2019, he was elected Member of the European Parliament, where he is the spokesperson for the Constitutional Affairs Committee for the Socialists and Democrats group and a member of the Culture and Education Committee. He also carries out his parliamentary responsibilities within the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, as well as in the inter-parliamentary delegations with the Republic of Iraq, of which he is Vice-President, beside the delegations of Mashreq and Palestine. He also holds the Presidency of the Union of European Federalist and is a member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Federal Council of the European Movement.

Biography

Master in Education and Society, with Dissertation on Citizenship Education. Degree in Economics. Senior Technician of the Directorate-General for Education – Ministry of Education (Direção-Geral da Educação – Ministério da Educação), working in Citizenship Education. Representative of the Directorate-General for Education/Ministry of Education in: Working Group on ‘Schools: Learning for sustainability’ – European Commission (Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture); GENE – Global Education Network Europe. At the national level, representative of the Directorate-General for Education – Ministry of Education in the National Strategy for Development Education Monitoring Commission. In-service teacher trainer in the field of Citizenship Education, with experience at national and European level.

Biography

Louisa Slavkova is a political scientist and author with extensive experience in foreign policy, democracy development and civic education. Louisa has held various positions throughout her career, including a visiting fellow at Columbia University, programs manager at the European Council on Foreign Relations and adviser to Bulgaria’s former foreign and climate ministers. In 2013, she founded the Sofia Platform Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on civic education and dealing with the legacy of Bulgaria’s communist past. She is the co-author of two textbooks on civic education in Bulgaria and has authored and edited several books and publications on foreign policy, democracy, and civic education. In 2021, Louisa co-founded THE CIVICS Innovation Hub and now serves as one of its three managing partners, overseeing operations in Sofia. She is also a civics course instructor at New Bulgarian University and a frequent contributor to Bulgarian and international outlets on democracy in Bulgaria and the region.

Biography

Onno Hansen-Staszynski is an innovator in (media) education, tackling disinformation, and digital identities. As chairman of the Ezzev Foundation, co-founder and teacher trainer at the Dynamic Identity Academy (adT), co-initiator and partner of numerous European and Polish projects, and part-time teacher at the Polish public high school ZSO nr 5 in Gdańsk, Onno and his wife Beata Staszyńska-Hansen pilot, implement and teach a blend of media education, prophylactics, participation, and media creation. Their main target group is adolescents, and their teachers and parents. Onno is a member of the Commission Expert Group on tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy through education and training and of various other European, Dutch, and Polish expert groups. He is the co-initiator and ghostwriter of the Commission Pilot Project PPPA-AGEVER-01-2020, of which the follow-up initiative was a pillar of the Commission BIK+ strategy. He is an advisor to DROG, specialists in tackling disinformation, and to Schluss, the digital vault giving people full control over their data. In addition, Onno is an independent filmmaker, a blogger, a former journalist, a former corporate, and a former artist.

Biography

Gyula Cserey is Head of Unit for Strategy and Investments in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC). His unit is the lead service for driving the implementation of the EU education flagship, the European Education Area that is meant to be achieved by 2025. Before moving to DG EAC in 2018, Gyula has spent more than 10 years in other Commission departments and EU institutions covering competition, external affairs and labour market policies. He holds a doctorate in law and political sciences.

Biography

Biography

Conor Galvin, PhD (Cantab) is Director of the Doctorate programmes at UCD School of Education, Dublin, IRELAND, where he also lectures on various education sciences, sustainability, public policy, and research methods programmes. His research interests include sustainability and just transition, policy and policy networks, professional knowledge, and the impact of new and emergent technology on learning and society. He is UCD lead on the TAP-TS Teacher Academy – an inaugural ERASMUS+ Teacher Academies Project tackling teaching sustainability.

Dr Galvin is an adviser to the European Commission on teaching & learning for sustainability and on the new Jean Monnet Schools Action. He is a member of the Ministry of Education Ireland PISA/TALIS Advisory Council and of the National Council of Curriculum and Assessment Ireland Curriculum Specification Development Group on Climate Action and Sustainable Development (CASD). He also contributes to peace support education programmes at the UN School Ireland (UNTSI).

Dr Galvin holds The President’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the National Forum Award for Innovative and Engaging Teaching. He is past-President of the Education Studies Association of Ireland and Co-Chair Designate of the Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South (SCoTENS). Before joining UCD, Dr Galvin taught and researched at University of Wales Swansea, and University of Cambridge, England.

Biography

Jenni Decandia works as an education coordinator and English teacher at Oriveden yhteiskoulu, a school which has been granted the eTwinning School label, and she is a Finnish eTwinning Ambassador. Jenni has been awarded several national and European eTwinning quality labels and a national eTwinning prize. In her role as education coordinator in Orivesi, Jenni is responsible for developing and implementing innovative educational programs and initiatives. She also works closely with teachers to support their professional development. Jenni is passionate about the power of eTwinning to connect students with different cultures and perspectives, and she believes that eTwinning is a valuable tool for promoting European citizenship.

Biography

Lília Vicente holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures – English and German (Faculty of Humanities of the University of Lisbon – FLUL), a Masters in Pedagogical Supervision and Teacher Evaluation (Universidade Católica Portuguesa – UCP) and is currently a PhD student at the same university. She has been the Team Coordinator for International and Training Projects at Directorate-General for School Administration and Management for the past 6 years, being her team responsible for some teacher and school principals training as well as partnerships in international projects. She is one of the representatives of the Portuguese Ministry of Education at Working Group on Schools of the European Commission since 2016 and the national coordinator of the programme Supporting Multilingual Classrooms of the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) of the Council.

Biography

Michael Teutsch is Head of Unit ‘Schools and multilingualism’ in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. The unit is a policy and programme unit contributing to the building of a European Education Area.

Michael deals with

• policy cooperation in the areas of schools and multilingualism on topics such as key competences development and equity in education, teachers' professional development, learning for environmental sustainability, language learning, or quality early childhood education and care
• with the European flagship programme Erasmus+ in the areas of schools, vocational education and training, and adult learning
• and the digital education platforms eTwinning, the European School Education Platform, and the European adult learning platform (EPALE).

He joined the Commission in 2001, to work on labour mobility issues in Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Before that, he had worked in the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and in research projects in Germany and Italy on the European structural funds, and on transport and environment policy.

Biography

Biography

Sogol Noorani  is an education policy analyst working for Eurydice – a European network providing analyses and information on education systems and policies in all countries participating in the EU’s Erasmus+ programme. She has a background in educational science, cross-cultural psychology and European politics and integration.

Her main areas of research are education policies on diversity and inclusion. She is the author of many Eurydice publications, including on Promoting diversity and inclusion in schools in Europe, Supporting refugee learners from Ukraine in schools in Europe, Tackling early leaving from education and training in Europe, Integrating students from migrant backgrounds into schools in Europe, and Promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education.

Biography

Fergal McCarthy is the Principal of Kinsale Community School for the past 10 years. Fergal is a member of the National Executive of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools as well as serving the National Executive Committee of the Teaching Council of Ireland. Fergal is also a member of the Executive Committee of the European Federation of Educational Employers (EFEE) and is currently serving EFEE as Vice-President.

Kinsale Community School is the most successful school in Ireland in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, and in the VEX Robotics World Championship. Kinsale Community School has pioneered initiatives in respect of sustainability, climate change and biodiversity. These initiatives resulted in attracting an EU Council of Ministries meeting to Kinsale Community School on May 3rd and 4th 2023. Kinsale Community School has established six units for children with Autism, which makes it the largest centre of educational provision to such children in a mainstream setting in Ireland. Kinsale Community School is also one of four Microsoft Showcase schools in the Republic of Ireland – it is recognised by Microsoft as a centre of excellence in respect of teacher collaborative practices.

Biography

Caridad Alarcón Sánchez is one of the Vice-Presidents of the Lifelong Learning Platform. She comes from the student movement and is a former member of Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU), one of the largest European organizations representing students. She is also the founder of Asociación de estudiantes (ADEA), a student organization in IES Alquibla, located in Murcia, Spain.

Caridad is specialized in diversity and inclusion, green transition, and student rights.

Biography

Xavier Bonal Sarró is full Professor of Sociology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). He is the director of the research group Globalisation, Education and Social Policies (GEPS) at the UAB, and Coordinator of the GLOBED Project, an Erasmus Mundus Master on Education Policies for Global Development. He has been Special Professor of Education and International Development at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), member of the EU Network of Experts in Social Sciences and Education (NESSE), and member of the Expert Group on Quality Investment in Education and Training of the European Commission.

He is Editorial Board member of several international journals of education policies and educational development. Professor Bonal has widely published in national and international journals and is the author of several books on sociology of education, education policy and globalisation, education and development.

He has worked as a consultant for international organisations such as the OECD, UNESCO, UNICEF, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe.

Biography

Anna-Maria Giannopoulou is of Greek nationality. Anna-Maria studied English Literature and Applied Linguistics at the University of Athens and Edinburgh and spent 20 years as a teacher, teacher trainer, university lecturer, director of studies and manager in secondary and tertiary educational institutions in the UK, Greece, Hungary and Belgium.

She began her career in the European Commission in 2003 and worked on policy coordination and briefings for the Commission President. In 2012, she joined the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, where she has worked on human resources and school education policy.

Biography

Biography

Chiara Finocchietti  is Director of the Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence (CIMEA) – a part of the National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARIC) Italia. Geographer, she comes from the world of research and is an expert in the evaluation of qualifications and higher education systems. Author of various publications on the subject of credential evaluation, she coordinates numerous international projects on the above topics and is a member of various international working groups on higher education policies.

She has been appointed a member of the Working Group on Higher Education of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Education (CDEDU Working Group on Higher Education), and is an expert of the ETINED Platform (Council of Europe Platform on Ethics, Transparency and Integrity in Education).

She is the current President of the European Network of Information Centres (ENIC) Bureau, and National Correspondent for the Italian Qualifications Framework within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

Biography

Elisa Briga is an expert in intercultural learning and learning mobility in the field of youth and school education.

Since 2023, she is the Secretary General of the European Federation for Intercultural Learning (EFIL), the umbrella of 26 organisations in Europe belonging to the AFS Intercultural Programs network - the leading non-profit individual pupil exchange organisation. Previously, she had been overseeing the advocacy activities of the organisation since she joined in 2011. She coordinated the EU Preparatory Action “Expert Network on Recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad in general secondary education” 2020-2021, and is now leading the E+ project Empowering Teachers for Automatic Recognition.

She holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Trieste with a thesis on the role of youth information centres in the promotion of youth mobility.

In the past, she worked for the European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy at the Partnership between the European Commission and Council of Europe in the field of youth. She has been volunteering for 25 years for CISV International, a worldwide organisation promoting peace education.

Biography

Baiba Ramina  is director of Academic Information Centre of Latvia already for 22 years and has more than 30 years professional experience in education system.  Baiba Ramina is responsible for the management of activities in the field of recognition of qualifications for academic and professional purposes, European and national qualification framework, and Europass activities in Latvia.

From 2015, Baiba Ramina is responsible for the management of Latvian Quality Assurance Agency activities as well. Since 2008, Latvian representative in the European Commission European Qualifications Framework Advisory group (EQF AG) for both issues – qualification framework and validation of non-formal and informal learning. Active member of EQF AG project group on Third Country Dimension of the EQF, participating in the alignment of Hong Kong qualification framework to EQF (2015) and comparison of European Qualifications Framework and Ukrainian Qualifications Framework (2022).

Member of the Lisbon Recognition Convention (LRC) Committee Bureau since 2013. Active participation in the Monitoring the Implementation of the Lisbon Recognition Convention (2016, 2022).

Biography

Biography

Aislinn O'Donnell is Professor of Education in the Department of Education, and also a member of the Centre for Public Education and Pedagogy in Maynooth University, Ireland.

Aislinn’s research and writing engages with questions of democracy, citizenship, pluralism, and education, focusing on the cross-section of political theory and educational theory. She has also developed educational responses to extremism and radicalisation. Examples of the above include The Enquiring Classroom (Erasmus+) and EDURAD: Educational Responses to Extremism (ISF-P) projects.

She has an ongoing interest in prison education, and some of her writing and research has been developed as a response to her experience and engagement with the space of the prison and people who are incarcerated. Her research and writing also explore aesthetics, sensibility, materiality and affect in pedagogies and education.

She is particularly interested in ecological approaches to both philosophy and education. As part of this she has developed a number of art and philosophy projects in different sites of practice, such as schools and prisons, working with artists, philosophers and curators. These involve developing a range of creative pedagogical practices and innovative approaches to evaluation.

Biography

Daniel Wisniewski, PhD MBA – Secretary General of the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE), expert in education policy, member of various Expert Groups on education and training coordinated by the European Commission and the OECD.

Co-Manager of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education with teacher trade unions, Co-Founder and Manager of the Educational Leadership Network Europe (ELNE).   

Biography

Biography

Horia Onița serves as President of the European Students’ Union (ESU), working in the organisation on overarching political priorities (Bologna Process, European elections, Council of Europe Ministerial Conference, etc.), quality assurance of higher education and recognition, learning and teaching policies, micro-credentials, digitalisation and social dimension of higher education.

He represents ESU in positions such as Co-Chair of the Drafting Committee of 2024 Tirana Communique, Co-Chair of the Bologna Follow-Up group on Social Dimension, member of European Quality Assurance Register Board and Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG) Board.

Horia has been active in the student movement for 9 years, priorly being the president of the National Alliance of Student Organisations in Romania for 2 years.

He holds a Bachelor of Law and Master of Public Procurement degrees from the University of Bucharest.

Biography

Biography

Biography

Michaela Šojdrová has been a member of the European Parliament for the Czech Christian Democratic Party since 2014.

From 1996 to 2010, she was repeatedly elected to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament, where she worked as a member and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. In 2022, she was elected as a Vice-Chair of the Committee for Culture and Education. Her experience from Czech School Inspectorate and the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) at the OECD, where she worked between 2010 and 2014, has been a great asset for the parliamentary work in the European Parliament. As the rapporteur of the European Education Area and a standing rapporteur of the European Solidarity Corps, she primarily focuses on education in its all forms, volunteering and young people. She participated in the Conference on the Future of Europe as the EPP coordinator for the first Panel on education. Some of her priorities included fight against disinformation, citizenship education or improving of language competences.